Mikel Arteta is out for the season with an ankle injury. Anderson and Paul Pogba won’t feature for United again this term, either. Yakubu and Junior Hoilett return to training for Blackburn, Harry Redknapp is sweating on the fitness of “four or five” players, while Brendan Rodgers hopes to give some of Swansea’s fringe players a run out before the campaign is over.
Mikel Arteta has been ruled out for the season with an ankle injury. Arsene Wenger revealed earlier today that the midfielder will not feature again after sustaining the problem early on in last Monday’s home defeat by Wigan, going on to say:
It is season over for him but he doesn’t need surgery, which is what we were scared of. So he will be out for six to eight weeks. It is an ankle problem but just a sprain.
The Gunners boss also revealed Abou Diaby will return to the squad, after taking part in a friendly on Wednesday evening. Francis Coquelin is back in full training after picking up a hamstring problem but will remain sidelined as he builds up his fitness.
Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out both Anderson and Paul Pogba for the remainder of United’s campaign this morning. The former has failed to recover from a hamstring injury, while Pogba sustained an ankle injury in a reserve game earlier in the week and will miss his side’s title run-in.
Reports suggest Leighton Baines is expected to return to the Everton starting XI before the season is out. The left-back has been ruled out of this weekend’s trip to United but according to the Mail, he will be back in time for the final game of the season against Newcastle. The club have only confirmed he will be missing for tomorrow, though with doubts still hanging over his availability for next week’s double Gameweek against Fulham and Stoke, many plans are currently up in the air.
Blackburn pair Yakubu and Junior Hoilett returned to training yesterday as the pair look set to win their fitness race ahead of the visit of Norwich. Both were subbed off in last week’s 3-0 defeat at Swansea and were doubts with knee and hamstring problems respectively, but reports indicate they are on course for tomorrow’s crucial showdown with the Canaries, as Steve Kean looks to grab a vital three points as his side battle relegation. Gael Givet trained with the squad this week after being left out at the Liberty, with Kean suggesting he “wasn’t in the right frame of mind” to take part. With Grant Hanley likely to be out with an ankle injury, Givet looks set to come back into the first-team fold.
Brendan Rodgers has suggested he is set to hand a few of his fringe players some game time over the remaining four matches of the season. The Swansea boss has revealed he is looking to freshen things up, though with the Welsh club not yet mathematically safe, his tinkering may be set aside for another week – victory at Bolton tomorrow would ensure their survival, though. Intriguingly, reports also suggest that Rodgers is looking at a new 3-4-3 system for next season.
Alan Pardew has revealed he has no qualms with fielding Rob Elliot in tomorrow’s home clash with Stoke. The keeper is on standby to start after Tim Krul picked up a back problem in training and, with the Magpies conceding just a single goal in the last five Gameweeks, their manager is confident of Elliot’s ability to step up, should Krul prove to be unavailable.
I’m not concerned about Tim. Robbie Elliot will play if he doesn’t play – I wouldn’t blink about putting him in. He’s been brilliant at the training ground with all the extra work he’s done with our strikers and everybody else. He deserves to be in goal.
Harry Redknapp was somewhat cryptic in this morning’s press conference. The Spurs boss revealed he is waiting on the fitness of as many as “four or five” players ahead of the trip to QPR. Younes Kaboul and Niko Krancjar are definitely out for the London outfit, though; the duo have failed to recover from knee problems in time for the visit to Loftus Road.
